Your Absence, My Heart
by JaiSpade
Summary: Leo's got a job that Piper has a little trouble getting used to. Dating a whitelighter stirs up some irritation in her and makes her wonder if fighting to be together is really worth it. How do her sisters help Leo make Piper see that it's meant to be?


**New fanfic here! This one's about Leo having to orb out all the time and how Piper's trying to deal with it. Please enjoy.**

**DISCLAIMER: Charmed is not mine. I don't own anything but this plotline.**

They moved in unison, shaky breaths emitted amidst soft moans. His hands moved along the curves of her body as she caressed his strong back. Their lips interlocked in perfect synchronization, tongues swirling around each other. He moved harder, reaching deeper, and she let out a loud moan. Suddenly, he pulled away from her lips. She looked up at him with confused, dark eyes. He glanced towards the ceiling and sighed.

"Leo, no," she complained, wrapping her arms tighter around his back.

"I'm sorry, I have to go," he said, giving her a sweet kiss.

"That's the third time this week. It's ridiculous," she groaned.

"I know." He left the bed and proceeded to put on his clothes. "I'll make it up to you."

"You say that every time. I don't want you to make it up to me. I want you to stand up to them and be here with me." Piper wrapped the sheet around her naked form and got out of the bed.

"I promise, this is only temporary," he said, gently grabbing her arm. "A whitelighter was killed last week and we have to pick up the slack. The Elders are helping new whitelighters into the fold. I'll be back home by next week."

"Next week?" Piper shouted. "You'll be gone for a week? Leo, this is crazy! We're engaged and I don't even see you!"

"I know, Piper. I'm really sorry, but you knew what this would be like," he said, running a hand over her cheek. "This is just a test for us. To see if we can make it through all these obstacles. You have to be able to deal with all my absences."

"Yeah, but do they have to call you while we're in bed?" Piper gestured to the bed. "It's too hard. I thought I could deal with you being gone so much, but I don't think I can. How can we get married if you're never here?"

"Piper, don't give up on us," Leo said, then he heard the jingling in his head again. He sighed. "I really have to go."

"You always have to go," she said quietly. "I don't know how much more I can take of this."

Before he could reply, she pulled out of his arms and went to the bathroom. He clenched his teeth and pulled his shirt over his head before orbing away.

(((o)))

Piper was in the kitchen the next morning, busying herself with breakfast. She hadn't slept last night, feeling too alone in her bed. She had hugged Leo's pillow to make it seem like he was there, but it didn't work. So, she had gotten up early and cleaned up her room and the kitchen before getting started on breakfast.

"Hey, Piper," Phoebe greeted her older sister. "Something smells great in here."

"That would be pancakes, eggs, and sausage," Piper replied.

"Oh, yum," Phoebe smiled, taking a seat at the island. "Where's Leo?"

Piper sighed. "Out whitelighting the Elders only know where. He'll be gone for a week."

"A week? Can the Elders do that?" Phoebe asked.

"They can do anything they want, no matter how much it bugs me," Piper said, clearly upset as she scrambled the eggs in the skillet.

"Oh, honey," Phoebe said with sympathy. "He'll be back before you know it."

"Yeah, if I can distract myself long enough. It's hard, though. Every time I go to do something, I keep calling him thinking that he's here," Piper sighed. "You know, last night before he left, I told him that I didn't know if it was worth it going through all his absences."

Phoebe's eyes widened. "Piper, you don't mean that."

"I honestly don't know," Piper said. "I mean, I didn't say that exactly, I kind of implied it. It's just…you know I love Leo with all my heart. But sometimes, I feel like he's more dedicated to his job than to our relationship and I know his job is important, but I don't think he loves me as much as he loves that."

"You know that's not true. Leo can't live without you," Phoebe said. "He's just making nice with the Elders so they'll let him marry you."

"That's what I think sometimes…but then, I feel like they're only trying to pull him away from me," Piper sighed, sorrow taking over her.

"Piper," Phoebe said, taking her hand in hers. "That's why you have to hold on to him. You can't let them win."

Piper looked at her sister.

(((o)))

"Leo! Leo, I know you can hear me!" She waited a minute. "Leo, you need to get your ass down here right now!"

The room filled with orbs. Leo appeared with a surprised look on his face. "What's the matter? I'm not supposed to be here."

"Well, this will only take a minute. You need to figure what you're gonna do," she said.

"What I'm gonna do? About what?"

"You know about what. About the Elders," she said.

"Phoebe, I need some time to think. I can't defy the Elders," he said.

"No, but you also can't let Piper go," she said.

"What do you mean?" he instantly worried. "Did she say something?"

"She told me that she told you it wasn't worth it to be with you anymore," Phoebe sighed.

"Yeah, she did," Leo sighed. "I know she didn't really mean it. I'm just afraid she'll give up on us."

"She's just annoyed that you keep bending backwards for the Elders and she understands that you need to be on their good side for her, but she's doubting your love for her," Phoebe said.

"What? That's the one thing she shouldn't be confused about. I love her more than anything! That's why I'm kissing the Elders' asses!"

"I think she knows that, but it doesn't make it any easier for Piper," Phoebe said.

Leo sighed. "I know, I know. So what do I do?"

"I don't know," Phoebe shook her head. "But you need to do something quick before Piper really throws in the towel. She loves you, but that may not be enough."

"Okay, but please, don't let her give up. I'll be home in a week and by then I'll figure something out. Just make sure she knows I love her," Leo pleaded.

Phoebe smiled. "I will."

"Thank you. I gotta go," he said.

"See you later," she said.

He orbed out and she stood there for a moment, contemplating how to get Piper and Leo back on the right track. Looked like a job for Phoebe the Matchmaker.

(((o)))

A few days had gone by and Piper seemed to be doing okay. She would go about her business casually and hang out with her sisters like normal, but Phoebe wasn't convinced that she was okay. Leo was supposed to be home in three days and Phoebe was hoping he'd come up with an idea to make it up to Piper. If he didn't, then Phoebe had a plan. It was Friday and Faith Hill was going to be playing at the P3. Piper had spent the entire day at the club, fixing things and cleaning up and arranging the furniture just to busy herself. Unfortunately, it wasn't going as planned. It was a really stressful task and all she wanted to do was go home to Leo. But he wouldn't be there.

Piper sighed. "Only three more days," she mumbled to herself.

The club was in full swing. People were lining up at the door, Faith Hill was delivering beautifully, and Piper was hung up at the bar. She didn't have time to watch what her sisters were up to. As soon as Faith was on break, Phoebe and Prue snuck backstage.

"Okay, one Corona, one Smirnoff, and a Budlite," Piper said, placing drinks in front of each man.

"Why thank you," one of the men smiled. "Never seen a pretty lady work a bar like this before."

"Well, aren't you kind," Piper chuckled.

The man grinned. "My name is David. So, how about I take you out?"

"Oh, that's really sweet," Piper looked up at him. "But, I'm seeing someone already."

"How serious?" he asked.

She looked a bit taken aback, but then flashed her engagement ring. "He's my fiancé."

"Oh, are you happy with him?"

"Excuse me?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm sorry if that's too personal," he said.

"Uh, no, I'm just surprised by your forwardness," she said. "Yes, I'm very happy."

"Yeah, I get it. I was engaged once, too. But it didn't work out."

"Oh? What happened?" Piper asked, quite curious.

"Well, I'm a businessman. I work all around the country. Baltimore, Chicago, LA, New York City, I have offices everywhere," David said. "Anyway, I was dating my college sweetheart. We were together six years and I thought it was time I proposed. She said yes and we were engaged for a year."

"Why did it take so long?"

He sighed. "Because of my job I pushed off moving our relationship forward and there were so many obstacles in the way."

"I know how that feels," Piper said. "So, how come you never got married?"

"She was tired of waiting for us to get married. I was barely around and she got fed up with me never being there." He shook his head in sorrow. "She gave me back the ring and said, 'You seem to love your job more than you love me and I'm not going let you choose. I chose for you.' Then she left."

"Oh, no. That's horrible," she said. "What did you do?"

"I didn't know what to do. I just buried myself in my work and tried to forget it all. It's been hard, but I think I'm starting to move on. She was the love of my life, though," he smiled slightly.

"I'm very sorry. I'm sure you'll find another love out there," Piper said.

"Any chance it could be you?" David tried again.

She smiled gently. "I'm very flattered, but I belong to someone else. Believe it or not, we're kind of going through the same thing you went through with your fiancé. He's pretty dedicated to his job and I sometimes feel like I don't compare. But, I think I need to keep fighting for him. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," he smiled. "Well, I'm not surprised. Beautiful woman like you should be taken. Whoever that guy is, he's really lucky."

"Thank you," she smiled.

"No problem." He finished his drink, left a tip, and walked away.

Piper watched as he disappeared in the crowd. The conversation she just had with David got her thinking…

The man walked up to Prue and Phoebe backstage.

"What did she say?" Phoebe asked.

"She said she was engaged to a guy who she thinks she needs to fight for," he answered.

"So, she turned down your offer?" Prue asked.

"Yeah," David said. "She loves him."

"Good," Phoebe chimed in. "So that means she's not giving up on Leo."

"Okay, thank you so much for doing this for us," Prue smiled at David.

"Sure thing," he smiled back.

Phoebe turned to Prue. "Alright, so we've got Faith Hill ready to sing the song, Piper's word that she's still on board with Leo, and now all we need is…" Leo suddenly walked out from Piper's office. "Leo."

"Sorry, they were taking forever," he said.

"Don't worry about that. Did they agree?" Phoebe asked.

"Yes," Leo smiled brightly. "Are we set?"

"All set," Prue nodded.

"Alright, places everybody," Phoebe said, then everyone spread out.

Prue and Phoebe went by the bar to talk to Piper while David went out to the crowd and Leo stood backstage. He really hoped this worked.

"Hey, Piper," Prue said. "Do you need a break? I can take the bar if you want."

"No, it's okay," Piper replied, waving her off. "I can handle it."

"Come on, you look tired," Prue insisted.

Piper smiled. "Okay. Thanks."

Prue and Phoebe smiled and went behind the bar as Piper walked out. She began to make her way backstage to check on the band when David came up to her.

"Hey, we have a problem," he said.

"What?" she asked.

"These two kids outside are trying to get past security. I went out to my car to get something and I saw the head security arguing with them," he responded.

"Oh, you got to be kidding me," she groaned. "I'll go clear it up."

David watched her walk up the stairs to the entrance. A few moments later, Piper came back into the club after having resolved the issue with the two drunk teenagers trying to get into the club. The band had just came back onstage.

"Alright, ladies and gentleman," a very familiar voice floated throughout P3, making Piper turn around in shock. "Grab that special someone and hold them tight. This next song goes out to my special someone. Piper Halliwell, this one's for you."

Piper's face broke out into a huge smile as she saw Leo on stage. He stepped aside to give way for Faith and exited as she began to sing. All the couples moved onto the dance floor and began swaying to 'Breathe'. She stood there, smiling like an idiot as Leo came up to her.

"Care to dance?" he asked, a sweet smile gracing his lips.

"Wh-I thought…you're back early," Piper stuttered.

"I couldn't stay away for long," he said, taking her hand in his. He led her onto the dance floor and pulled her gently into his arms.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close. "What did the Elders say?"

"I had to strike a little deal with them, but I got another whitelighter to cover the end of my shift," Leo replied.

"A deal? Is that going to cause more problems for us?" she asked, irritation starting to set in.

"No, it's not. The only reason I kept getting called away was because they were giving me new charges without asking other whitelighters to take them on. Because I am a top whitelighter they were piling it on me, partially testing me to see how we would work around it," Leo explained. "I made a deal that I would continue to work only if they checked with other whitelighters before they called me. I would be around more often now and our wedding is still in question, but they're warming up to the idea."

Piper smiled. "So, we can get married soon?" "Sooner than before," he smiled with a quick nod of the head.

"And you're going to be here more," she spoke in reassurance. "No orbing away while we're, you know…"

"Nope, I'm here for you," Leo chuckled lightly.

Piper's arms tightened around his neck as she was giddy with joy. He laughed and pulled her head to his in a passionate kiss. She shuffled closer to him and kissed back, giggling into his mouth.

Prue and Phoebe smiled from the bar, seeing the couple laugh and kiss. "We're so good," Phoebe smiled, high-fiving Prue.

"Yeah, we are," Prue said.

Leo held Piper close as they swayed to the music. "You know I love you, right?"

She looked at him, slightly surprised. "Of course I do. Why are you asking?"

"Because I know you think that I love my job more than you, but that's not true," he replied. "I've never loved anything or anyone as much as I love you. I guess it's easy to see why you would think I don't love you as much, but I'm only working this hard for us. I want us to get married as soon as possible."

"Leo, I get it, I really do. I've been acting so selfishly lately because I want you so much, but I understand why you work. You're protecting people and saving people and I shouldn't tear you away from that. So I will do my best to be more understanding when you leave."

"It's okay, Piper. We'll get through this like we always do," he smiled sincerely.

"I really don't deserve you," she said, leaning forward so that their faces were just inches apart.

"It's me who doesn't deserve you," he said. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she grinned, then closed the distance between them and kissed him sensually.

**Yeah, it was kind of random. Hope you enjoyed it, though. Review! Thanks, guys.**


End file.
